I am always confused when I hear university graduates talk about their “alma mater.” As the term literally means “nourishing mother,” does it imply that you love and respect the place you studied in the same way you love and respect your mom?
A detail I have just learned fills me with scorn for University College Dublin – my alma mater: UCD has joined a new European Union-funded research project alongside Israel’s Technion, a well-known scientific institute.
Scheduled to kick off in January next year, the $5 million project focuses on “innovative nucleic acids.” As nucleic acids can help diagnose cancer and other serious diseases, the EU is indicating that the project is medical in nature.
That doesn’t make everything okay.
During the ongoing genocidal war, Israel has starved Gaza of food, medicines and the other essentials of life. It has caused devastation to Gaza’s healthcare facilities, frequently killing patients and staff.
Dr. Hussam Abu Safiya, the director of Kamal Adwan Hospital, is being detained in barbaric conditions following his arrest last year. His weight has fallen dramatically as a consequence.
Funding medical research projects involving Israel can never compensate for the crimes Israel has committed against healthcare and against humanity itself.
And the Technion’s medical research activities will never cancel out how the institute serves as a laboratory for Israel’s arms industry.
The Technion even hosts a conference billed as “the most important annual event” for Israel’s aerospace (read: weapons) industry.
Israel’s top arms makers sponsor the event, which – the Technion website states – provides them with a platform for “presenting up-to-date technology.” It is a safe bet that products which have been tested out on Palestinians are included.
UCD’s management has been alerted time and again to the Technion’s relationship with Israel’s weapons industry. Previous cooperation between UCD and the Technion has been strongly criticized by students and professors in Dublin. (more...)
University College Dublin teams up again with Israel’s Technion
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